Norwegian Center for Stem Cell Research expands by addition of four research groups

19 May 2011

Magnar Bjørås, Arne Klungland, Gunnar Kvalheim and Judith Staerk

Four new research groups have joined the Norwegian Center for Stem Cell Research. The groups are headed by Magnar Bjørås, Arne Klungland, Gunnar Kvalheim and Judith Staerk.

Magnar Bjørås is located at Oslo University Hospital-National Hospital in the Department of Microbiology. His group studies DNA repair mechanisms in neural stem and progenitor cells and their relation to the control of neural proliferation and survival. His research activities strengthen the Center by adding a perspective on basic molecular mechanisms involved in neurogenesis and neural stem cell biology.

Arne Klungland is located at Oslo University Hospital-National Hospital in the Department of Microbiology. His group studies DNA repair mechanisms, early events in embryogenesis related to the establishment of pluripotency and has also established a human ES cell platform for studying neurodegenerative diseases such as Huntington's disease. His research activities provide the Center with additional expertise relating to pluripotency and the use of hES cells to study human pathologies.

Gunnar Kvalheim is located at Oslo University Hospital-Radium Hospital in the Department of Cellular Therapy. He heads one of the newest and largest GMP-approved facilities in Europe for the clinical preparation of human cells for cell transplantation treatments, and is involved in clinical trials using autologous human hematopoietic and mesenchymal stem and progenitor cells in the treatment of blood cancers. His activities expands the Center's capabilities for initiating clinical stem cell trials.

Judith Staerk has recently taken a position at the Norwegian Center for Molecular Medicine and brings to the Center top international expertise in iPS cell technology. Her research focuses on the production and characterization of iPS cells derived from blood cells and the use of these to investigate normal and pathological processes in hematopoietic lineages.